Monza, Italy (October 6, 2011) — American Michael Lewis set the pace and claimed the top spot on the speed charts at the conclusion of a Formula 3 Italia collective test at the Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza on Wednesday, October 5.
Michael joined 13 other F-3 Italia drivers for the team collective test session at the famous Monza Circuit in preparation for the final F-3 Italia race event that will occur at Monza on October 15 and 16.
The weather for the collective test was perfect with a clear sky and little wind. The test consisted of four one-hour open test sessions for the F-3 Italia cars and Michael was at the top of the charts for the two morning sessions and the early afternoon session. For the final one-hour session late in the day all the teams ran “simulated” qualifying sessions for their drivers using new tires. On Michael’s first set of tires early in the session he set a blistering lap of 1:47.280 at an average speed of 194.395 km/h, which remained fastest for the entire session, placing Michael on top of the charts for this important test session. In fact, Michael was five-tenths faster on his lap than Maxime Jousse, who claimed the second fastest lap.
“It feels good to be able to get up to speed here at Monza,” described Michael Lewis. “My engineer Fabio Zilio had a plan as to how to approach the day. We worked all morning and came up with an approach to try for the simulated qualifying run late in the day and it worked. Now, we must keep our focus so when we arrive here for the race weekend, we continue to work hard and try our best. My friend Giacomo Ricci gave me some very good tips as to how to approach this track and I followed his instructions exactly, which worked out perfectly.”
Michael is currently ranked 2nd in the Formula 3 Italia Series Championship and is ranked 1st in the series’ Rookie Championship. There are only two races left of the 2011 Formula 3 Italia Championship season, which take place at Monza, October 15–16.
Michael’s sponsor lineup for 2011 includes Eibach Springs, K&N Engineering, SKF, GoPro, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Cometic Gasket, Bell Helmets, Braille Battery, Subè Sports and Calico Coatings.
Monza Collective Test Results:
1. Michael Lewis – Prema Powerteam – 1:47.280
2. Maxime Jousse – BVM Target – 1:47.786
3. Victor Guerin – Lucidi Motors – 1:47.793
4. Sergio Campana – BVM Target – 1:47.866
5. Eddie Cheever – Lucidi Motors – 1:48.050
6. Edward Liberati – Ghinzani Team – 1:48.110
7. Brandon Maisano – BVM Target – 1:48.186
8. Simone Iaquinta – JD Motorsport – 1:48.192
9. Kevin Giovesi – Lucidi Motors – 1:48.260
10. Facundo Regalia – Ghinzani Team – 1:48.335
11. Raffaele Marciello – Prema Powerteam – 1:48.498
12. Andrea Roda – Prema Powerteam – 1:48.516
13. Old Frederick – CO2 Line Race – 1:48.915
14. Edward Bacci – CO2 Line Race – 1:49.691
Results courtesy of StopandGo.tv.
